The interview process is a dance between the interviewer and the candidate. Because interviewers shouldn’t ask personal questions, good interviewers will ask the right questions to elicit answers that exemplify the qualities they are looking for. If you ask the right questions, you will get the right answers.
“What are the top 3 things you want out of your next opportunity?”
You can really find out a lot about a candidate within the first two minutes of an interview. This is always my first question because the candidate’s answer tells me everything I need to know and whether or not I want to hire the person.
For instance, if the candidate responds with, “I want the company to be close to my house, I want a 9-to-5 job, and I want great benefits,” then you know the person is not a strategic thinker and is not motivated by his or her career. Conversely, if the candidate replies with, “I want a position that’s going to elevate me to the next level, I want to be relied upon as a manager, and I want to save the company money,” then you know he or she is a go-getter and is motivated by important things.
“How have you helped your company improve a process?”
When you ask candidates about their past jobs and what they have added, you’re actually asking about how they will perform the job at your company and how they can help you do your job better.
I once hired somebody who came up with a process to make a time line for acquiring a manuscript, from speaking with the author about the outline of the book all the way through production. And improving that process really helped our team and company. So, when I interviewed candidates after that, I knew that was a quality I needed in my next employee.
Read Between the Lines
I once interviewed a woman who had a great résumé with a lot of experience in the area we were hiring for. But she showed up to the interview 15 minutes late, was complaining about her personal life, and had a lot of space in between jobs that she could not explain. To add to the bad experience, her husband came to the interview as well. This was an example of someone who had a great background, but once we met face to face, I just knew it wasn’t a great strategic fit.
The interviewing process is very important to not only the hiring manager but also to the company itself. Hiring the right candidate saves the company time, money, and resources if you hire the right person. It’s always good as a hiring manager to learn better ways to interview and find the right questions.
What are your experiences with hiring? What questions have proven successful for you?
